Thirty years ago, Bruce Fricke started Fish Tale Boats on Fort Myers Beach, working the docks and climbing his way up through the marine business before buying the small dealership at Fish-Tale Marina. This fall, the family-owned company he built with his wife Diane is marking three decades in business — and the reach of that milestone now extends well beyond the island where it began.
Today the dealership is headquartered on seven acres off Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers, with additional locations in Bonita Bay and Naples. It has been named the largest Robalo dealership in the world for seven consecutive years, carries Grady-White, Chaparral and Premier Pontoons alongside it, and employs about 50 people. A mobile service fleet brings technicians to customers’ docks, and a boat club plus safety clinics help newcomers learn the water.
The business is still run day to day by the family — Diane Fricke and her sons Travis and Justin. Travis, who cleaned boats on Fort Myers Beach as a teenager before moving into sales, says the promise to buyers is simple: the family that owns the place will still be there years down the road. Roughly a dozen employees have been with the company for decades.
It’s a good reminder of what keeps Southwest Florida’s marine economy running — local businesses that put down roots and stay. Thirty years in, this one is still on the water.
Source: Fort Myers Beach Observer & Beach Bulletin — “Fish Tale Boats celebrates 30th anniversary” (Sept. 24, 2026).
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